Abortion Foes Protest

Rally Coincides With Anniversary Of Court Decision

West Palm Beach — About 40 people lined North Dixie Highway on Saturday, many clutching rosary beads in one hand and a poster bearing the photo of an 8-week-old fetus in the other.

In front of the Palm Beach County Courthouse, they asked God to help them end abortion rights, which received constitutional protection 33 years ago today in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade. The Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach organized the hourlong rosary service, and Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito said it was part of a constant effort to live by moral law and influence human law.

"It's just a simple, peaceful, prayerful asking of God to do all we can to change that decision in this country and to respect life in this country," he said.

The anniversary arrives against the backdrop of Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the nation's high court. Alito was nominated by President George W. Bush to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who often has cast the deciding vote in abortion rights cases. If the court overturns Roe vs. Wade, states would be responsible for allowing or banning the practice.

Abortion rights activists such as Kim Guzma are nervous about changes in the makeup of the court.

"It's something I hate to think about. ... If it's up to the states, a lot of states would make it illegal, and Florida would be one of them, especially if Republicans are still in charge," Guzma, president of the north Palm Beach County chapter of the National Organization for Women, said Friday.

Protecting reproductive rights, including abortion and birth control, is NOW's No. 1 priority, she said. "How can anybody tell you what to do with your body?"

In recent years, many states have added restrictions to abortion, such as requiring parental notification for minors or requiring abortion counseling.

"I think it's going to go the right way. ... We just keep doing what we can to be there and pray for it," abortion rights opponent Virginia Harvey, 75, of Boynton Beach said Saturday. Harvey also attends prayer vigils once a month outside the Presidential Women's Center, a West Palm Beach clinic that provides abortions and was closed for five weeks after a suspicious fire on July 4. "We believe in life, and all babies, all persons, from conception to the tomb, have the right to life," Harvey said.

The restrictions may help reduce the number of abortions performed, and Roe eventually may be overturned, but it's a slow process, said Don Kazimir, director of the diocese's Respect Life Office.

"It's a long, tough battle. I've been in it since 1976," he said. "People are becoming more and more educated, especially about post-abortion trauma."

Though Saturday's vigil marked the legal battles surrounding abortion, Denise Brockwell of Delray Beach said ending abortion rights would happen away from the courthouse. Brockwell, 39, said she had had an abortion 13 years ago, and only recently realized the guilt and shame she had carried with her since. Brockwell and her husband, now parents of six children, went to counseling, and she no longer feels like a hypocrite while opposing abortion, she said.

"Women need to be aware of what they're stepping into," she said. "The change is going to happen in women's testimony. People like me have the ability to make an impact."